Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions his Department has had with representatives of above Step 5 (a) football clubs and (b) governing bodies of English football on supporting a safe return to (i) playing and (ii) spectating as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.

The safety and security of players and spectators is of paramount importance.

On Tuesday 22 September it was announced that all sports pilot events currently ongoing would be paused with immediate effect. The Government has taken the decision to pause test events due to the sharp upward trajectory of Covid-19 cases. A?s set out in our Roadmap, sports events pilots, and the full return of fans to stadia would only ever take place when it was safe to do so.

The Government remains in regular dialogue with all the football authorities to understand their current circumstances and is keen to see the safe return of spectators to live sports events. The Government fully understands that fans want to be back watching live sports and we are continuing to work with the sector on solutions and innovations.

I was delighted that we were able to see the safe return of competitive grassroots football from 18 July.